Forfeit Decides Title Winner In Delray Tourney

February 22, 1985|By Steve Tiberi, Staff Writer

DELRAY BEACH — Mike Hoffman is the new king of shuffleboard at Kings Point.

Hoffman won the Class AA portion of the 10th annual 10-week individual Kings Point Shuffleboard Club Tournament on Wednesday. Until playoff competition Wednesday, the tourney was played on Monday afternoons with more than 140 club members participating.

Hoffman, a resident of the Kings Point development west of Delray Beach, finished in a tie for first with Al Sherman, also of Kings Point. The duo compiled identical 15-5 records over the 10-week tourney.

They were scheduled to play a best-of-three playoff match Wednesday afternoon to determine a winner. Sherman, who suffered back and leg injuries in a Feb. 8 car accident, was forced to pull out of the playoffs and had to settle for second place. Hoffman won the title for the first time. He finished third in the tournament a year ago.

``I`m satisified with my performance in the tournament,`` said Hoffman, 75. ``I was in third place last year, and I`m happy I moved up. Al felt he couldn`t play well enough to compete for the championship. It`s a shame because he was ahead. I managed to keep it close, and I`ll take the title.``

Sherman was leading Class AA portion of the tournament with a 14-2 record with two weeks left to play. After the accident, Sherman was forced to miss a week of play, costing him two defeats and tying him with Hoffman at 14-4. In the final week of the tourney, Sherman decided to play and try to win the title.

Sherman and Hoffman each won one match and lost another to finish in a tie with 15-5 records. Sherman suffered a great deal of pain in the final week and decided it wasn`t worth risking further damage in a playoff.

``I just couldn`t bend down,`` Sherman said. ``I decided after the two matches on Monday (Feb. 18) that I was in no shape to continue. I`ll take second place and wait until next year. I`m happy that I still managed to tie for first place.``

Hoffman, who plays shuffleboard four times a week, knew he had good chance of winning the tournament from week one. He had just worked through a summer slump and was making the shots necessary to win.

``Everybody has on days and off days in this game,`` Hoffman said. ``I definitely felt I had a good chance of winning this tournament. I lost five matches, but the final Monday was a good example of what can happen to you. I won the first game convincingly, and in the second game I couldn`t do anything right. You just can`t let it bother you.``

After the final Monday of play, five players were tied for first place in Class A with 14-6 records. They played a round robin playoff on Wednesday with Irving Gross of Kings Point coming out the winner. Bea DiSapio of Kings Point was second, and Irving Berger placed third. Murray Wein and Joe Sablon were also in the playoff.

Sam Cohen, 73, of Kings Point won the Class B title with a 17-3 record. It was the first time Cohen participated in a shuffleboard tournament. Sam Chaiet of Kings Point was second with a 16-4 record. Isodor Horowitz of Kings Point was third.

``I`m surprised I did so well,`` Cohen said. ``I started out with a good record, but I didn`t pay too much attention to it. Once, the tournament got into the ninth and 10th week, the pressure really started to build for me. Everybody was trying to knock me off because I was ahead.``

Joseph Stein of Kings Point finished first in Class C with a 17-3 record. George Marcus of Kings Point was second with a 16-4 record and Sol Boyen of Kings Point was third at 15-5.